Case Study
Trio remains central at Worsall Grove Farm
Farm Profile
Customer:
Michael Harker
Location:
Yarm, North Yorkshire
About:
Farming over 600 hectares of owned and contract-farmed land. The business grows wheat, oilseed rape and barley across a mix of heavy clay, riverside and lighter soils.
The Challenge
The Harker family needed a cultivation system capable of working efficiently across a wide range of soil types while making the most of limited labour and short weather windows. The priority was to create a quality seedbed in as few passes as possible, preserve valuable soil moisture and maintain the flexibility to plough where required, all without increasing establishment costs.
A practical approach to establishment
Michael works alongside his brother Phillip and son Dave, with additional labour brought in at harvest. With a relatively small team covering a large area, reducing unnecessary passes is a priority.
“The Trio sits in the middle of the system,” he explains. “We still plough some ground, and we still have power harrows, but for most of our establishment work we want one meaningful pass that leaves the ground in the right condition for drilling.”
Michael works alongside his brother Phillip and son Dave, with additional labour brought in at harvest. With a relatively small team covering a large area, reducing unnecessary passes is a priority.
One pass where possible
The Trio’s combination of low-draft legs, concave discs and rear consolidation allows the farm to lift, mix and reconsolidate in a single operation.
For cereal ground, the machine is typically run at around 10in working depth, while ahead of oilseed rape it is taken deeper, closer to 12in, to relieve traffic pans and improve rooting conditions without excessive soil movement.
“Moisture retention is important on our ground,” says Michael. “We don’t want to turn the field into a dig site. We want enough lift to deal with any structural issues and then leave a finish that will weather and drill cleanly.”
He has also found that running the Trio at a slight angle to the tramlines gives a noticeably better finish than working directly with them.
Machine Specifications
Key benefits include:
Improving soil structure over time
After several seasons of using the Trio, Michael believes the land has become easier to work.
” Water movement improves, standing water is reduced, and the tractor isn’t pulling the machine through a tight profile every year,” he says. “It seems to free up after two or three years.”
Headlands receive particular attention, often being worked across the direction of travel to avoid creating lumps and compaction where the drill is repeatedly lifted and turned.
Simplicity matters
Compared with the farm’s previous plough-and-power-harrow establishment system, the Trio has reduced both labour requirement and the risk of losing moisture or seedbed quality while waiting for the next weather opportunity.
Michael remembers the frustration of ploughing ground, watching it dry and bake, and then having to work hard to recreate a suitable seedbed before conditions changed again.
Low running costs and strong resale value
Running costs have also been a major factor in the machine’s long-term place on the farm.
Michael describes the Trio as inexpensive to maintain, with wearing metal making up the main cost. The farm keeps spare legs ready to swap during refuelling, allowing repairs to be carried out later rather than stopping work during a busy day.
The business has also moved from shearbolt protection to auto-reset legs, which has reduced downtime further.
“Even though stones aren’t a major issue here, a shear bolt doesn’t always come out cleanly. What should be a quick job can suddenly become a half-day exercise.”
Residual value is another point Michael believes is often overlooked.
“Our Sumo equipment has generally held its value very well. Previous Trios have sold quickly, including to neighbouring farms, and even older machines still make strong money second-hand.”
A machine that keeps the job moving
Michael is clear that direct drilling would not suit all of their land, and he expects rotational ploughing to remain part of the system. But that is precisely why the Trio continues to fit.
It has not replaced every other cultivation tool in the yard; it has become the machine that does the main job consistently, with minimal complication.
“You don’t have to be a master ploughman to use them,” he says. “Once it’s set correctly, it gives a reliable result.”
And when asked whether he could see the farm moving away from the system, his answer is straightforward:
“It would take a lot to change us.”
For Worsall Grove Farm, the combination of output, simplicity, low running costs and strong resale value is what keeps the Trio at the centre of the cultivation system. In a season where timing is everything and weather windows are rarely generous, a machine that keeps the job moving continues to earn its place.
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